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TALLAHASSEE – When the 27th Annual Florida Senior Games begin on Saturday, Dec. 1, the Polk County area will be represented by athletes competing in 25 sports, over nine days in Clearwater.

Approximately 2,600 athletes, from age 50 up, will compete in 17 different locations in Pinellas County from Dec. 1-9. The 2018 games – which serve as a qualifier for the 2019 National Senior Games – have been held in Pinellas County since 2015.

In total, athletes come from eight countries, 47 states and 262 Florida cities will compete over the nine days of events.

More than 9,700 athletes have competed in the game during the past four years.

Among the 156 athletes competing are:

Janet Brown, of Lakeland, who earned the 2015 FSG Female Athlete of the Year and has won a gold medal in 15 of the last 16 years. She won a silver medal in the 2014. Brown, a golfer, shot the overall lowest women’s score of the Florida Senior Games, a 72 in 2004. She won a National Senior Games gold medal in 2005.

Henry and Linda Armstrong, of Lakeland, are the most prolific Florida Senior Games shuffleboard players in the history of the games. In 2017, they each won their ninth singles gold medal, dating back to 2005 for Henry and 2007 for Linda. The 2017 gold medals came in the 65-69 age group for both. They have also teamed to win six doubles gold medals between 2006 and 2017.

Polk County area athletes competing in the 2018 Florida Senior Games, presented by Humana